Farmers can get real-time prices for their produce and vital information on when best to plant, irrigate and harvest.

And it means that disaster survivors can communicate with responders – and most importantly, their relatives and friends. That is why restoring communications must be a high priority in the aftermath of catastrophic events such as we have just seen in the Philippines.

The United Nations is working using ICT in many countries in many ways.

The Food and Agricultural Organisation has created a GPS mobile phone application to inform farmers about animal vaccination and help disease outbreaks.

Initiatives such as Global Pulse are helping to provide early warning of disease or food shortages and target assistance during and after disasters.

In Niger, the UN Development Programme has helped develop the country’s ICT Plan for MDG Acceleration.

And in Madagascar, a programme called “the Wisdom of the Crowds” used the reach of mobile technologies to collect the views of young people, giving them a voice in policies and development strategies.

UNDP also helped fund Estonia’s E-Governance Academy that is working around the globe to promote the advantages of ICTs for governance and citizen engagement.

There are so many examples.

But technology and innovation does not always mean hi-tech.

Fuel-efficient cookstoves can cut respiratory disease and save the environment.

Water purification systems based on nanotechnology being tested in India could prevent countless deaths from diarrheal diseases for as little as $2.5 per family per year.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is clear that science and technology are central to promoting progress – from climate change to public health; from food security to sanitation; from good governance to disaster preparedness.

That is why governments at last year’s Rio+20 sustainable development conference asked me to move forward on creating a technology facilitation mechanism. The goal is to promote clean and environmentally sound technologies.

Too often policy-makers are not aware of the solutions that modern science and technology can bring to today's challenges.

And too much of the world remains cut off from scientific advances.

Now is the time to harness the power of science for the greater good everywhere.

To do that, we have to close the technology gap.

Countries like Estonia have an important role to play – as donors and innovators.

We have to bridge the digital divide.

We have to promote “pro-poor” research that addresses the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, such as small-scale farmers.

Other imperatives include closing the digital divide in access to information technology and expanding education.

In particular we have to close the gender gap in technology.

Women in low- and middle-income countries are much less likely to own a cell phone than men.

And we have to provide science education to all students, especially girls, so they can train for jobs in the fields of science, technology and engineering.

That way we can raise a new generation of engineers, entrepreneurs and visionaries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to close with another story.

This time it is not my own.

It is about a man from Brazil called Alfredo Moser.

He is an inventor -- and an inspiration to all of us.

A decade ago he devised a way to light his house during the day without using power or dirty fuel.

More than 1 billion people in the world lack access to electricity.

That is why I have launched a Sustainable Energy for All Initiative to provide universal access to modern energy, double energy efficiency and double the use of renewables.

Many solutions will be hi-tech.

But, as I said, innovation can come in many forms.

Alfredo Moser’s solution to lighting his house was simple.

He filled plastic bottles with water and some bleach to stop algae from growing and fixed them in holes he had made in his thin iron roof.

The sun streams in and each bottle creates the same light as a 40 or 60 watt bulb.

Simple and brilliant.

In the Philippines, the lamps are now in 140,000 homes.

You can find them India and Bangladesh, Argentina, Fiji and Tanzania.

Where electricity is expensive or unavailable, the lamps mean people can have indoor light in daytime without the expense and health effects of kerosene.

Some people use the lamps to grow food on small hydroponic farms.

Mr. Moser hasn’t grown rich from his invention. He has given it away.

But he sounds like one of the richest men I know. He is rich in wisdom and compassion.

He is a true global citizen.

As we look ahead to the future we want, let us all think how we can be global citizens.

That might mean working on solutions for sustainable development.

It might mean being a wise policy maker or diplomat.

Perhaps it means joining the United Nations or a humanitarian organization.

Or it might be as little as recycling your waste and switching off the lights when you leave the room.

We all have a role to play, and I count on everyone here to think how you can be a true global citizen.